1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a box holder for pliable boxes, and more particularly to a releasable support adapted to securely engage and hold a pliable box, such as a tissue box.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The convenience of a support for boxes, such as tissue boxes, has given rise to a substantial number of designs of such holder, brackets and supports. Generally, it is desirable that box holders securely engage the box, be adaptable to support boxes of at least minor variations and dimensions, and readily release the box when empty. Also, it is desirable that this be accomplished with a simple, inexpensive design.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,258,238, 3,285,559, 3,733,044, and 3,837,608 illustrate one school of effort concerning mounting of pliable boxes. The first listed patent essentially engages the box on four sides with a bracket of limited resilience. Accordingly, the holder must be of essentially the same dimensions as the box to be engaged. The other of the listed patents disclose devices which engage opposed sides of the box, usually about midway on such side. The engaging members are essentially resilient and utilize, in instances, pointed members to key into the sides of the box. Again, the range of box sizes which may be supported is severely limited by the limited resilient nature of the engaging members. Also, engagement is substantially at the weakest portion of the box side, or involves substantial distortion of the entire box, thereby compromising the strength of the box.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,964,282 discusses another design having greater adaptability in engaging boxes of varying design, but at the expense of substantial complexity. For instance, the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 ultizes a watts linkage to interconnect opposing pointed members which engage the box. While the mechanical complexity provides desired performance, cost renders the concept impractical for many applications.
Accordingly, it will be recognized that the prior art designs tend to be simple but relatively inflexible in accomodating boxes of various dimensions, of limited holding power or otherwise causing substantial distortion of the walls of the box, or, finally, tending towards substantial mechanical complexity when adapted to accomodate boxes of differing sizes without crushing the box and at the same time providing secure engagement of the box.